Unexpected-Chapter 15

Unexpected

by Orion9

Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Feedback: Would be so greatly appreciated! :)

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone, especially to plumtuckered. (Thanks for the encouragements!) Sorry this took a while. Was away for a week due to work. Hope that this chapter makes up for it. :)
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Chapter Fifteen – Unmasked

The Royal Zenandrian Palace
Zenandria
0830 hours

“Why don’t you just let us handle this matter?” K’lar asked with a scowl after Archer had finished speaking. “It is an internal problem after all.”

Malcolm shook his head. “It ceased to be an internal problem the moment they involved Commander Tucker.”

“Lieutenant Reed is right,” Archer agreed. “The other problem is if he catches sight of any of you, he’ll know. It’ll make it harder to get him then.”

“These are extremely serious allegations, Captain Archer,” J’ok said grimly after a moment’s silence. “Are you absolutely certain?”

“Yes, King J’ok, I’m sorry to tell you that we are.”

“But you have no other evidence besides what you’ve just shown us?” Mylir spoke up, her dark green eyes troubled.

“Not yet, Your Majesty,” Archer replied. “But I might have an idea how we can get it.”

The Sapphire Room, The Royal Zenandrian Palace
Zenandria
0930 hours

He stood rooted at the main entrance for a moment, slightly taken aback by the presence of the three humans in the room. So, they were invited to the breakfast as well. Hastily masking his reaction, he walked into the room, greeting Archer as he did so.

“I heard that you were the one who found the princess,” Archer said after introducing both of his men. “Great work.”

“Thank you, Captain Archer,” he said, acknowledging it with a nod. He continued after a short pause, “I’m really sorry to hear about the loss of your crewman.”

“Thank you,” Archer replied unsmilingly. “Commander Tucker was a good friend.”

Delighted that they were obviously clueless about what really happened, he kept his face neutral as he asked several other appropriate questions. The fools!

“I hope you’ve caught the men that were responsible for this,” he offered finally, pleased that he’d successfully kept the contempt out of his voice.

“We did, actually,” Archer responded casually. “I believe you know one of them.”

The Captain’s answer was not what he was expecting and his smile faltered momentarily before he managed to get himself under control. He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

Archer nodded.

“His name’s Hra’ak.”

“What?” he exclaimed, making sure that he injected the right amount of shocked incredulity into his voice. “My former Royal Guard?”

“Yes.”

He was getting a little uncomfortable under Archer’s steady stare when the Captain continued lightly, “In fact, he claims it was all your idea.”

“He did what? That’s ridiculous!” he scoffed with a harsh laugh. “He’s probably the one who planned it all. Just ask the other two and you’ll see.”

He watched, more than a little suspicious, as Archer exchanged glances with his officers before turning back to him. What? What did he say?

“How did you know that there were three men? We never released that information.”

“Err… I …” he licked his lips nervously. Perhaps they aren’t as stupid as I initially thought…

“Well?” Archer asked, his face unreadable.

His eyes narrowed slightly at the Captain’s tone of voice. I think it’s time I left… He frowned, arranging his features to appear as if he was insulted by Archer’s line of questioning. Aloud, he said frigidly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Captain. Now, if you’d excuse me…”

He made to move past Archer but before he could do so, the men on each of Archer’s sides took a step forward, effectively blocking his way. Startled by the hard look in their eyes, he took an involuntary step backward, and then stood there looking warily from one man to the other.

“By the way, where were you during the attack on Commander Tucker?” the tall, dark-haired man on Archer’s left spoke up after a tense moment.

Looking steadily at Lieutenant Reed, he noted the subtle anger in the man’s unforgiving grey eyes, and knew without a doubt that he had to proceed with extreme caution.

“Here, of course,” he replied with a careless wave of his hand. “Where else would I be?”

A slight movement caught his attention and he looked past the three men, his eyes hardening at the sight of the two other Enterprise crewmen stationed by the front door. It took some effort but he managed to keep his anger from showing at the deliberate security move.

“You know, it’s strange that you should say that…” The casually spoken remark brought his attention back to Archer as the captain continued, “As far as we could tell, no one even remembered seeing you anywhere near here.”

A slash of red coloured his cheeks before he managed to compose himself. He decided that being on the offensive was the best course of action right now.

“Are you insinuating that I had something to do with the attack on Commander Tucker?” he demanded, as his eyes flashed angrily.

“Of course not,” Archer’s tone was so soft that he had to strain his ears to catch every word. “We are not insinuating anything. We know you were behind it – all of it.”

“What are you talking about?” he laughed derisively, as his heart started to pound erratically. “You’re out of your mind!”

“Oh? You think?” Archer raised an eyebrow at him before drawing his attention to Reed, who was holding an item between his thumb and forefinger.

“Look familiar?” the Lieutenant asked bitingly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Archer felt a rush of grim satisfaction as he watched a deep flush infuse the young man’s face before he turned pale, his eyes widening in speechless alarm. Without thinking, his hand had reached up to his right pocket, where there were three similar buttons like the tiny one in Malcolm’s hand.

“I see that you do recognise it,” Archer smiled coldly after a short tense silence.

Taken aback by sudden chill he got from the Starfleet Captain’s smile, Ri’krd could only stand there as Archer continued, “I’ve been told that each member of a prominent family has their family crest embossed onto the buttons of their clothes. Since we’ve already checked with the other members of your family, I believe that this is yours, since it apparently came from this piece of clothing?”

Ri’krd sucked in an involuntary breath as the young man on Archer’s other side held up the jacket that he’d worn last night. It was missing a small button from the left breast pocket. He’d changed out of it after realising that it was too dirty to be worn after his scuffle with the late Commander Tucker. Struggling to keep his face devoid of any expression, he fumed inwardly; incensed that he hadn’t noticed the missing button until now.

Malcolm exchanged a quick look with Travis as they watched their captain neatly trap the man they all knew was responsible for the kidnapping and for Commander Tucker’s current condition. It had taken all of his restrain not to hit the man the moment Ri’krd had set foot into the room. Now, the man looked as if he was contemplating on making a run for it. Malcolm shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he observed the young Zenandrian carefully, ready to counter any sudden moves that he might decide to make.

With a strangled sound, Ri’krd broke eye contact with the captain and looked away, thinking hard. For a fleeting moment, he thought about making a dash for the door. Then, sanity reasserted itself and he smiled contemptuously at the men in front of him. What do they have again against him? A button! It proved nothing.

He smiled slowly; his confidence restored, and took a step closer to Archer, who immediately put out a hand to stop his men from advancing as well. With unconcealed amusement, Ri’krd looked on as both men halted, looks of hesitation on their faces. They eventually withdrew without protest to their original positions after another glance from their captain.

Malcolm was especially tense and uneasy as they stood there, watching silently, as the Prime Minister’s son dismissed them with his eyes before bending forward to speak in a low whisper to Archer. He struggled to catch what the other man was saying but all he got were the occasional words here and there. He took another cursory look at Travis but the slight tightening of the man’s jaw told him that the ensign wasn’t having much luck either in that area.

Striving to conceal any emotion from showing, Archer stood still as he listened, Ri’krd’s breath warm in his ear. It was a few minutes before the man stepped away, a sly smile on his face.

“One last thing,” Ri’krd sneered as he widened the gap between Archer and himself. “It basically comes down to Hra’ak’s words against mine. And who do you think is going to believe the words of a traitor?”

When Archer made no reply, he smiled wolfishly and gave the three a lavish bow.

“Now, if you gentlemen would excuse me, I believe I have other matters that need my attention. Please, do pass on my regrets to the His and Her Majesty for my failure to join them for breakfast today.”

He stepped past them and headed for the door.

“You’re wrong, you know,” Archer spoke up suddenly, stopping the other man in mid-stride. After a pause, Ri’krd turned back and faced them, a frown on his face.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes,” Archer answered, walking towards him. “Until now, it did boil down to just your word against Hra’ak’s.”

Ri’krd opened his mouth and then closed it without saying anything, uncertain of how he should react. An icy hand seemed to have clamped itself over his heart and was squeezing it harder with each passing second.

“But you know what?” Archer continued calmly, raising an eyebrow. He moved closer and whispered into the younger man’s ear, “Not anymore.”

Before Ri’krd could even think up a suitable reply, he was startled to hear his own voice booming back at him, echoing harshly throughout the hallways.

Seeing that you went to all this trouble, Captain Archer, allow me to put your suspicions to rest. You were right, of course, I did arrange for the princess’s kidnapping. Your crewman was just an extra bonus I picked up along the way. Consider it a … retribution … for the embarrassment I’d suffered when she picked him over me! Not that you would be able to prove anything – my men have seen to that. What you have is just a button, nothing more. The princess will be mine after this evening.

The deafening silence that followed enveloped them as they simply stood there, staring at each another. Only the flash of icy rage in Archer’s eyes gave his real feelings away as he faced the man before him, whose mouth had gaped open in his face, which had gone even paler than before. The door opened and Ri’krd whirled around to see K’lar and the Imperial Guards entering the room, followed closely by the royal family and, finally, his father. Dakr’a’s face was equally ashen as he looked, almost uncomprehendingly, at his eldest son.

“Oh, I forgot to mention one other thing,” Archer continued and Ri’krd’s head snapped back to meet the captain’s glacial green eyes. “Your men did not manage to complete your orders, fortunately for us. Commander Tucker is still very much alive and he’ll be more than happy to identify you once he’s well enough.”

Frantically, Ri’krd turned and looked at the group behind him, seeking out the princess. After glancing at him coldly, Xadria turned away, her face distant and expressionless save for an intense look of disgust. Knowing that all was lost, he looked back at Archer with a snarl even as his hand slipped into his right pocket.

“Interfering fools! You should have never come here!”

Amber eyes filled with hate, he leapt at Archer, knife in hand.

The Royal Zenandrian Palace
Zenandria
1240 hours

“So that's why he arranged the princess’s kidnapping,” Hoshi mused, astonishment in her voice. “To play hero in rescuing her. But why go to all that trouble?”

“Zanendrians who perform heroic acts on behalf of the Royal Family are granted any requests that they may have,” Travis replied as the three of them made their way towards the hall where the Ceremony of Choosing was taking place.

“Any request? So Ri’krd did all this just to…”

Malcolm smiled dryly as comprehension dawned on the linguist’s face. “Yes, I believe he wanted to ask for Princess Xadria’s hand in marriage as his reward.”

“Which he did, with his heroic return of her sister,” Travis commented. “They apparently grew up together, and he had always assumed she felt the same way about him as he did her. But when she didn’t pick him as one of her five suitors…”

“He resorted to kidnapping,” Hoshi finished quietly. “But what about the man Xanindra said she saw lying on the ground when he rescued her?”

“Who?” Travis frowned in confusion as he considered her question. His brow cleared. “Oh, him. That was Hra’ak. All part of Ri’krd’s master plan.”

“Hmmm, all that just to get the princess to marry him,” Hoshi remarked. “I guess he really loved her after all, in his own sick twisted way, of course.”

Malcolm shook his head, his face skeptical. “I don’t know if that was his only incentive. I highly doubt it though. Ri’krd’s marriage to Princess Xadria would eventually hand him the power to the throne,” he said dryly. “Especially if he got rid of her later on.”

“My, my, aren’t we the cynic,” Hoshi teased lightly.

Malcolm grinned at her as he opened the side door to the hallway. “Maybe. But I doubt I’m too far off mark this time.”

“Well, I’m really glad that the Commander is finally out of danger. It’s a pity that he had to miss all this,” Travis remarked with a shake of his head. “Especially after what he’d been through.”

“Don’t worry,“ Hoshi smiled impishly as she preceded the men into the hall. “I brought his camera along. He won’t miss a single thing.”

The Royal Ballroom, The Royal Zenandrian Palace
Zenandria
1555 hours

They watched, smiling, as Xadria danced past in her new husband’s arms, her face radiant. Malcolm’s grin widened as he spotted Hoshi and Travis on the other side of the room, chatting happily away with several young Zenandrians. The update that they’d received on Commander Tucker a few hours ago had lifted a heavy burden from their hearts. It was a great relief to know that the Chief Engineer was going to be all right.

“That was very clever of you, Captain Archer, to play upon his weakness.”

What Queen Mylir said as she joined them drew Malcolm from his thoughts and he listened with interest as she continued, “Even as a child, Ri’krd loved to boast about his achievements, no matter how trivial they were.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Archer replied with a nod. “It was something that Hra’ak said that gave me the idea.”

“Yes, Hra’ak,” Mylir said, her voice sorrowful. “A good man corrupted by his devotion to a spoilt young man. He had looked after and protected Ri’krd for so long that he had come to think of him as the son he never had. He never could say no to that boy.”

“Until now,” Archer added when the queen paused. She looked at him with a sad smile.

“Yes, until now. I’m very glad that he did. Finding out that Ri’krd was responsible was a bit of a shock to us all. Dakr’a and his wife were especially devastated. He wanted to resign but my husband managed to convince him to stay.”

“He’s a good man,” Archer offered, glad that the Prime Minister was cleared of any wrongdoings earlier on.

“Yes, he is,” Mylir agreed. “For what it is worth, Captain Archer, J’ok and I never believed that Commander Tucker was responsible for Xanindra’s kidnapping. How is he, by the way?”

“His fever broke a few hours ago so he’s finally out of the critical stage. But the doctor says that he’ll be out till tomorrow at the very least…”

“And that’s why you are all here,” Mylir finished, smiling at the three officers.

“You could say it was ‘doctor’s orders’,” Archer said wryly. “I think we were driving him mad with our concern for Trip.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I for one am glad that you were all able to accept our invitation,” she laughed. “You certainly have a remarkable crew, Captain Archer. Enterprise must be a wonderful place to be. I can certainly see why the Commander declined my offer the other day.”

Archer frowned, puzzled. He glanced at T’pol and Malcolm but found no help in their equally blank expressions.

“Your Majesty?”

T’pol’s eyebrow rose a little as Mylir replied with an enigmatic smile, “Perhaps you could ask Commander Tucker when he’s well enough.”

Seeing that the queen was not going to say anything else on that matter, Archer refrained from asking further, although he was incredibly curious about her cryptic remark. He sighed. Another item to add to the growing list of things that he needed to talk to his Chief Engineer about when he was better. He gave the queen a slight nod.

“I fully intend to, Your Majesty.”

TBC

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Two folks have made comments

Delighted to see you have added another chapter,really enjoying this story very well written. Glad to see Trip is out of danger!!.Look forward to the next installment. Thanks a lot.

This is my second time to read this and its gets better each time. I hope you get a chance to finish it soon. Thanks for a wonderful read.